IF YOU’VE EVER dreamed of being chauffeured in a ministerial Merc, then that dream could be about to come true – the fleet of former State cars is set to be auctioned off.
Most ministers lost their automatic right to a car and garda driver in austerity measures introduced soon after Fine Gael and Labour came to power in March last year, with only the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Minister for Justice still retaining the perk.
This means that the State owns a number of vehicles which it no longer needs. Minister for Justice Alan Shatter has said they will be sold openly at a public auction in the near future.
He said “very active steps” were being taken by gardaí to arrange their disposal.
A tender competition to retain the services of a vehicle auctioneer is expected to be finalised in the near future and when the auctioneer has been selected the necessary arrangements for the auction will be made.
Former Taoisigh, ex-presidents, the Ceann Comhairle and attorney general also lost their automatic right to a car under the new regulations brought in last March.
The President, the Chief Justice and the Director of Public Prosecutions are still carried in a State car with a garda driver at the wheel.
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